Alignment

Right Person, Right Seat

There are no perfect jobs but there are jobs that fit better than others! Think over your career. What jobs fit you and why? What were the benefits of a good job fit? Make a list and make sure it includes happiness, health, and results!

Jim Collins, in Good to Great, introduced the idea of getting the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus. I remember reading the book and thinking it was a great idea but had no idea how to do it!

Let’s assume you have an employee underperforming and need to take action. How do you determine if they are a bad fit or just going through a rut? How do you determine if you have the right people in the right seats on the bus?

It took me 15 years to learn HOW to measure the fit of a person to a role. Just like being measured for a new pair of shoes, there needs to be an objective standard to measure against. At CLG, use people data to make good people decisions. The data brings the critical clarity necessary to make good decisions with confidence.

So many leaders don’t have the objective tools to make good decisions. They are not clear. It can be like skiing at night or driving in heavy fog…dangerous. In both cases you move slowly and question your judgment. In the same way, making go/no go decisions on employees without good data…slow and dangerous! 

So, what is the value of good data and clarity? When you have good information, you ask the right questions which enable you to make better decisions faster. 

This month we will consider the elements of making good, fast people decisions using an objective fit/gap analysis process. The key steps include:

  1. Define role requirements
  2. Measure people against the role requirements
  3. Take action 
  4. Repeat

Be sure to connect with us weekly this month for the full scoop of this social series. Here is a brief overview for each step…

Define Role Requirements

The game is won or lost by defining the role requirements. In football, if a coach did not consider the differing role requirements of a lineman and a QB, you’d say he was a bad (or dumb) coach. Yet, in companies, we see this done daily! Using consistent, comparable data and getting agreement from stakeholders is vital here. Join us in Week 2 of this social series to get the breakdown.

Measure People Against the Role Requirements

Once you have defined the role requirements you need to find the people that fit that seat on the bus. Simple but not so simple!

God designed people to work and to do specific types of work. They have specific drives and needs that fit the role like a key and lock. We will give you specific questions to consider in Week 3 of this social series.

Take Action

Once you know what the role requires and you can see the fit/gap of your people, you have to take action. We will tell you three common things to do in Week 4.

One of our clients reduced their sales staff by 25% based on their fit/gap data. Not only did it reduce their OPEX by $2m, it also opened seats on the bus for people designed to do the job.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result! Let us help you get clear about the roles in your company and align the right people to them. Contact us today to get started.

-Kevin Waters

Take Assessment
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